Every four years like clockwork, it happens: presidential politics becomes the focus of our national attention, seemingly dominating all aspects of our lives. The national conversation becomes one of campaign rhetoric, and anecdotal evidence suggests that it has only gotten more divisive. The conventional wisdom says that the two things one is never supposed to discuss at work are religion and politics, yet the political conversation can’t help but spill into the workplace, with the attendant potential for division and conflict. As an employer trying to foster productivity and keep the peace in the workplace, is there anything you can do? As it turns out, there’s quite a lot. More >

The National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) definition of the word “concerted” is beginning to extend past its common sense meaning. The NLRB has been expanding what counts as “concerted” activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“Section 7”) to cover a multitude of activities lately, and in 200 E. 81st Restaurant Corp., it stretches the definition just a bit farther. More >

The end of August saw the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issue a highly-anticipated opinion in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc.[1] In that opinion, the NLRB broadened the standard for what it considers a “joint employer,” a definition that had remained unchanged since Reagan-era appointees adopted a stricter standard in the 1980s (coincidentally, the earlier standard, endorsed by the Third Circuit in 1982, came in an earlier case against Browning-Ferris Industries of Pennsylvania, Inc. It is entirely possible that Browning-Ferris Industries exists as a company entirely to set joint employer standards before the NLRB). The new standard is liable to create headaches for corporations with subcontractors or franchisees, as it has the potential for parent companies to be held liable for labor violations at lower entity levels.

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has been on a roll in recent years, protecting such employee activity as complaining on Facebook or even hitting the “Like” button. In the case of Sabo, Inc.¸ the NLRB recently ruled that letting other employees know about an open position and speculating on terminations falls within a category of concerted employee activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).[1]

The National Labor Relations Act protects the rights of employees to connect and address conditions at work, and recent decisions have held that this protection extends to certain work-related conversations on social media.[1] However, it has yet to be determined exactly how far this protection will reach. More >

On April 14th, the new National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) election rules came into effect, creating a potential headache for employers. Perhaps most critically, the timeline between the initial petition for union election and the election itself may be as short as 13 days, giving employers limited notice of potential union organization and activity. These accelerated elections are derisively (but maybe not unjustly) referred to as “ambush” or “quickie” elections.

On March 18th, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr., issued a report[1] (“the Report”) concerning employer rules and employee handbooks in light of recent employer rule cases. Most of the violations found in these cases occurred under the first prong of the two-prong the test in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia,[2] which looks to whether an employer rule explicitly restricts protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). The Report used these cases as a guide to provide clear examples of both illegal rules and their legal counterparts, giving employers a valuable tool in evaluating employee handbooks and workplace rules.

Kentucky employment law generally recognizes that most employment is “at-will” – meaning, employees serve at the pleasure of the employer, and termination of an employee does not require “just cause.” There are several circumstances, however, where laws and other factors prohibit employers from terminating an employee without a well-documented showing of cause. Employers should be aware of the circumstances under which they may not terminate an employee without just cause.

Earlier this week, the standard established by the NLRB in Specialty Healthcare was discussed. As a quick review, the Specialty Healthcare decision made it easier for small collective bargaining groups known as “micro-units” to form in the workplace. These micro-units are easier to unionize, and the employer is left with the burden of showing why excluded employees of the proposed unit should be included. Specialty Healthcare was decided by the NLRB in 2011 and affirmed by the Sixth Circuit in 2013, but it was not until this summer that employers learned how the NLRB would apply this decision to other industries. More >

Employment law attorneys are abuzz with talk of “micro-units.” This term first surfaced in 2011, and has garnered attention once again in the wake of two recent decisions from the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). So, what is a micro-unit, exactly, and why should employers care about this legal catchphrase? More >